Into the Flames of Endless (Revised)
by Crimson Ventus
Summary: A group of adventurers decided to enter the Endless Tower. Bearing reasons of their own, will their dreams come true? Or is Endless exactly what it was told to be; a journey towards death? A darker and edgier story featuring 3rd job professions!
1. Prologue

**A/N: **

This is a revised version of our previous story with the same title. The purpose of this was to showcase the plot's background and have the storyline flow better.

This is not my work alone, but a collaboration with RottenSentence. She does the artwork for this ff. Please visit my profile if you're interested in our Character Banner for this story. The sketch includes all of our characters that will be introduced in the next two chapters!

Now then, onwards!

* * *

Prologue

A great war between men and monsters took place five hundred years ago. No man knows where these monsters came from or why they have waged war. But in order to save humanity, the humans had no choice but to fight back.

Warriors have witnessed many monstrosities during the war but the worst of them all were beings of intelligence. The highest classes of monsters were strong, powerful divine beings who were virtually immortal and held high positions within their hierarchy. Humans called them the Monsters of the Vast Pandemonium due to their immense destructive power that even one can bring. And amidst this dark army was their leader – Naght Seiger.

These monsters were proven to be too powerful for men when the outcome was one-sided from the very beginning. Men were discouraged, losing morale and hope when faced with countless defeats. On their peak of despair, the ruling King called out to Odin, the ruler of Asgard, to save the people of his Kingdom. Asgardians usually do no interfere in human relations; however, this war was an anomaly as the enemies were not humans themselves.

In response to the King's plea, Odin himself confronted Naght and in all his benevolence, gave him a chance to surrender. As proud as Naght was, even if he knew he could not win against the major god, he did not subdue or flinch an inch in the presence of the Allfather. Shaking his head in solace, Odin thrust his spear upwards where a tall dark prison tower made of bricks and built with a hundred floors appeared above them. Naght and all of his loyal subjects were sealed and confined in this very tower for eternity. Odin had sent the tower to a hollow dimension where Naght and his army could never do harm to anyone ever again.

* * *

To say that peace has been brought back to the Kingdom is not quite right as Midgard is not the same as before. It was the beginning of a new age as men and monsters began to co-exist in the human world. During Odin's and Naght's confrontation, there were monsters of different classes who willingly surrendered to Odin as they were not too fond of the idea on being sealed for an eternity. In accordance to Odin's command, these monsters were scattered around Midgard to be hunted countless times by humans; in exchange for the lives they took, as their punishment. Cursed with reincarnation powers; they were to be reincarnated again once they die.

Nonetheless, after the war was finally over, the King decided to burn all evidence related to the war in hopes that the people of Midgard would forget about that time of turmoil and calamity. Only a handful of documents about the Monsters of the Vast Pandemonium, known as MVP for short, are stored in the royal library.

As years passed, the emergence of magic and science created a new job system where different professions are allowed to hunt the monsters that have resided in Midgard. Subsequently, many adventurers and travelers emerged from all over the country. Seemingly harmless creatures were even kept as pets. The MVPs have turned into myths and legends as they have not been seen by many. And the Great War is now ancient history; shrouded in hidden truths and fabricated rumors, talked about every now and then. It was truly a time of peace and harmony.

Until ten years ago…

An eerie sky-piercing tower was discovered on the islands of Midgard.


	2. The Forgotten Notice

**A/N:**

If you've noticed, our story follows closely to the game settings - the "MVP", the items, the skills, etc. We're trying to include the elements of the game and make it as realistic as possible. But what fun if it's _too_ realistic? Humor is needed everywhere!

Enjoy!

* * *

The Forgotten Notice

Attention!

The Kingdom of Rune Midgard is hereby recruiting

powerful, courageous, proud and tenacious warriors across the continent

in order to battle and conquer the malicious Endless Tower.

Combatants, mercenaries and adventurers who are interested and wants to join the gallant Royal Army,

enlist yourself with the Prontera Chivalry.

If you shall succeed,

the title of Hero will be bequeathed upon you.

Glory will be yours. Wealth will be yours.

But above all, you will bring honor to your family name and your valiant deed will be known worldwide.

King Tristan III

Ruler of Rune Midgard

* * *

A decade has past.

The Royal Notice has been replaced with new ones.

Flyers and simple notices used to be distributed in every town, across the capital and all the way to the outskirts of each region.

Some posters still remained but the nearly dried paste was barely supporting the thin paper against the walls of back alleys. Now shriveled due to water and colored like burnt sienna. Worn out. And long forgotten.

Some did not bother, some were too afraid and some refused to remember of the horrible events that took place one after another ten years ago.

Women were waiting for their husband, children were waiting for their fathers and siblings, families were waiting for their relatives, but every single one of them who went up the tower never came back, never to be seen again.

The Endless Tower.

The cause of all unwanted memories and sacrifices.

* * *

The tower was first discovered by sailors ten years ago when they chanced upon it during their journey home. Nobody knew where it came from, who built it or what it was used for. It just stood there magnificently as if it was on its rightful place all along.

Once news of the discovery has traveled to the ears of King Tristan III; his Majesty immediately recognized the tower to be the one from the old stories told by his ancestors that only the royal blood were privileged of. It may become a threat to his Kingdom if leave be. However, there was a lack of active infantries and royal army due to a prior incident that occurred in Morroc.

After careful deliberation to solve the said problem, the King issued a Royal Notice to recruit brave men across the continent in order to challenge what was known then as the Endless Tower. Various people responded to the King by joining the expedition to uncover whatever mysteries that may lie inside the tower. But little did the King know what he was really dealing with.

Each group of men who went inside the tower never came back. Each squad, unit, troops who went in was never allowed to turn back. After sacrifices upon sacrifices, the King finally realized his grave mistake and ordered the halt of the impossible mission. It was proven to be too dangerous for any men to venture into the unknown territory. Since then, the King forbade anyone from entering the tower and words of the dead were not to be spoken about again…

XxxxxX

"But _that_ was not the last of it." A spiky-haired ranger in mahogany uniform claimed with his suspenseful tone. His black eyes wide with expectations.

"I heard that people still venture into the Endless Tower from time to time. For the loots and the gold! The treasures that lie within."

"How would you know? It's not like you've been in there have you? As far as we all know, nobody, and I mean _nobody_ has ever lived to tell the tale."

A roar of laughter echoes through the now crowded open-air pub of Goa Stgo situated at the north part of the city known as the Beach Town.

The ranger seemed unaffected by the apparent statement, "Fools. Of course there are survivors! You people are just ignorant about it," said the ranger who was standing on the middle of a round table. "Besides, I reckoned the people who went there are left with half a brain when they managed to get out," he snickered as he continued.

"But who cares. I'm in it for the zeny," he said as he bend his knees to a squatting position, saying in a low voice, "Imagine the rare goods you could obtain from slaying some of the myth MVPs that we've all heard about."

Silence fell for a mere few seconds until a question popped up. "Like what?"

The ranger shot up straight, hands in the air and started naming some of the rare MVP drops.

"Tiaras! Coronet! Red Silk Seal, Hunting Spear, Ring of Flame Lord and Resonance, Staff of Destruction, Book of the Dead, and invaluable Valkyrie Sets for ALL of us!"

"And don't forget the ultimate goal, the legendary Twin Edge of Naght Seiger Blades."

Clenching his fist with determination, he stated the obvious conclusion, "You'll be rich for the rest of your lives and fame would be bestowed upon you." The ranger paused for a bit before continuing, "If you come back sane that is."

Multiple pair of eyes were gleaming, their thoughts turning into images of the citizens cheering, confetti raining down on the city, sitting on horses to make their way to see the King. Which stubborn men in this era have not once thought of that glorious ending?

Seeing the expressions that he anticipated, the ranger was pleased. All the persuasion, dramatic story-telling, so-called brainwashing was all for the heat of this very moment. The moment for him to announce the sole purpose of visiting the ever-partying and the rowdiest city in Rune Midgard. "Everyone, listen up. I came here bearing an ambition. I, Kyler Avapheus, am officially announcing that I am here tonight to recruit for an Endless Tower expedition once again."

"So, WHO'S WITH ME?"

The crowd went silent...

What remained was the sound of the ice in a glass, clinking.

"Ookayyy. Let me guess, you guys are all cowards just wasting your time and fooling around in a pub, I get it now."

Silence was now accompanied by death glares.

Other than the jabbing sensation of a thousand needles, Kyler could feel holes burning through his whole body but he did not flinch one bit. There's no way he would falter.

Someone finally broke what can be considered a long, strained stillness. "Don't be ridiculous!" It was an anonymous yell, but still, better than the jarring stares of death.

Before Kyler could finish his thoughts on the worst possible outcome, another scorned, "You DO realize this is pretty much a suicide mission, you're crazy you know!"

"Indeed, but I can change that outcome," he retorted while regaining his confidence. Kyler took this chance to conclude the mini chaos. "Keep this in your skulls wimps, as this Endless Tower party will be the one where everyone will come back with everything and anything they've dreamed of, be it fame or fortune. Anyone of you who still has an ounce of guts left in that questionable third job uniform of yours, meet me tomorrow morning at 10. Alberta."

With that said, murmurs and whispers started to drift in the air.

The ranger jumped down from the table and quickly marched through the horde of people. The result of the recruitment wasn't what he had in mind; he was pretty crestfallen. Could he have possibly underestimated the terror of the tower, so much that the majority of them vigorously refused to accept the successful outcome of it all?

Kyler shook his head while crossing the bridge, trying to erase the negative contemplation. _There's still till tomorrow_, was what he thought. He was about to take his last step off of the bridge to retrieve his warg when a lady in armor approached him. After a brief exchange of conversation, the ranger permanently left the sands of Comodo.

* * *

Alberta. Nine-fifty a.m.

Kyler was walking towards the port area when he saw a man wearing the same uniform as his. He was sitting on the staircase near the port entrance. Most of his body parts were covered in bandages, especially on his right eye, arms and torso.

'_Great..an injured ranger is all I get huh.'_

Kyler raised an eyebrow, at least it's better than none.

"Look at what we have here, a first recruit, well done me."

"..More good news for you," the bandaged ranger said while pointing northwest with his finger.

Two green, dragon-like mounts were resting nearby the old wooden crates with their riders engaging in a conversation. One of them waved at Kyler when she spotted him.

"Two Rune Knights in the crew. And I see more comin' already."

A wanderer, accompanied by her musical partner was approaching the crates as well. They seem to be a couple. While they were walking towards the gathering spot, white and blue rays flashed as a handsome young man in his cathedral robes arrived via Warp Portal.

Few more members arrived in the span of twenty minutes.

The ranger gave a satisfied smirk at the result.

As the party walked further down towards the deck, they were stopped by an increasingly loud pair of footsteps.

"Waiiiit for usss!"

A sorcerer was yelling and signaling them to wait as he ran clumsily towards the bunch while a white-haired warlock walked behind him.

"That makes fourteen of us, the more the better, let's go then!"

* * *

**A/N:**

Any suggestions or constructive criticisms are very welcome. Thanks a lot for even clicking the title of this story, we really appreciate it. Please also click review when you have the time xD. Stay tuned for the next chapter.


	3. Acquaintanceship

**A/N:**

To make things clear, here are some** ET rules** to get started;

1. Resurrection does not exist in this story. Resurrection does not exist anywhere. Period.

2. Healing takes time; the heavier the injury, the longer it takes. Broken bones are impossible to heal by normal means.

3. Any type of teleportation skills does not work in the tower and Misty Island itself. =(

4. Vacuum Extreme does not work on MVPs.

As for our characters, Bon voyage!

Not.

* * *

Acquaintanceship

Sounds of waves crashing against the piers and the faint squawks of seagulls in the distant could be heard on this cloudy morning. Various marine vessels such as merchant ships and fishing boats are docked on the harbor, some of which have just arrived and others waiting for the next scheduled departure. The harbor located in the port city Alberta does not only serve as an international trading port, but also the gateway to many of the cultural towns and dungeons. The gentle ocean breeze is always pleasing to many, but not today, especially to an anxious bunch who are about to embark on a dangerous mission, their future uncertain.

"What is the organizer doing? I feel like an idiot waiting here," hands on her hips, a rune knight with brownish-orange hair complained. The rest of the group members were hanging around the crates; some were sitting and some were pacing in different directions, feeling restless.

"Perhaps he is looking for someone who can take us to our uncommon destination…?" the more mature looking female rune knight of the two replied while placing a bag of supplies on her mount, the breeze sweeping her long, wavy lavender strands of hair every so often.

"Then he should've done that beforehand! What kind of irresponsible organizer does this sort of thing last minute anywa-"

"Sorry for the wait. And keep your complains to yourself, missy." A sudden voice came from behind the girl. It belonged to none other than Kyler. Standing beside him was a bearded old man dressed up in a sailor's outfit, complete with a ship captain's hat.

"Ahoy, ya mateys!" The sailor greeted aloud. "So yerr' the ones that'll be going to the endless tower eh, that's quite'er number I see, definitely more than the previous ones I've fetched." He took out his pipe and puffed, his voice lowered. "Which took place some years ago…"

The last sentence caught a certain royal guard's attention. "You mean you've been there before?" He inquired.

"That's right ya young lads! Name's Jansen, Captain Jansen Roy Brown at yer service. Been sailing fer more than forty yers, been to more than fifty islands, sailing to the wreck that's Endless Tower is nuffin' compared to what I've gone through. This guy ya'll call Kyler sure knows how to find the right captain, ahahaha!" chuckled the captain as he slapped Kyler on the back, hard, receiving a glare from the irritated ranger.

"Jansen, get to the point already."

"Capt' Jansen, ya mean." Jansen corrected him, sucking his pipe he continued. "Alright young lads! Befor' I set sail with me ship, I'd suggest ya pay up yer zeny first, there's no such thing as free trips on this one! Ten grand from each of ya!" The last line ticked off nearly everyone on the spot.

"That's the cheapest he can offer." Kyler shrugged.

"You're joking right? That's a lot for merely boarding the ship!" A female arch bishop from the party gasped in disbelieves.

"What a rip-off!" Another member followed suit.

"Ya think it's easy to reach the island? It is none other than I who knows d' way, plus this is fer the supplies fer me ship!" Jansen exclaimed. Grumbles and mutters were heard within the crowd. Hesitantly, one by one, they gave Jansen their fare.

Satisfied with the amount, the captain walked off to the harbor, leading the way. "Don't worry young lads, it'll also count for yer trip back here, if yer can make it back alive that is, ahahahaha!"

"…."

"What are you people waiting for then? Let's go." Kyler said while giving the "go" sign by tilting his head a little before following up to the captain.

The rest held back for a while before heading off to their direction.

* * *

The wooden sailing ship was slowly making its way out of the harbor and off to the vast sea. Beige-colored sails flagged out magnificently, allowing the wind to guide the ship to its destination.

The adventurers were settling themselves on the medium-sized ship and putting their belongings away. After eating a light meal separately, they were gathered on the deck.

Leaning on the mast of the ship with his arms crossed, Kyler initiated the conversation. "Seeing how we're still on the way. Let's introduce ourselves shall we? We'll be working as a team after all. I'll start first, I'm-"

"You're Kyler, we know at least that much from the person who started all this." He was cut off by a higher pitched voice.

"And Miss Impatient here is Gwenalyn." Kyler gestured. Gwen responded with a pouty face at the spiky haired ranger, "meanie" she whispered lowly. Flipping her big orange curls, she proceeds to introduce herself further. "Orrrr you can call me Gwen." She then hooked her right arm on to the calm-looking rune knight's. "This is my childhood friend and senior, Alyth Kingsley."

The said rune knight nodded as she greeted the group. "Hello, nice to meet all of you."

Without wasting time, the minstrel took off his feathered minstrel hat and held it to his chest to introduce himself and his other half.

"Hey there, I'm Jack Majoris and this is my wife Leyra," said the minstrel.

His wife greeted them with a graceful spun and smiled. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Heh, I don't really care about your names, but I'll say mine anyway, I'm Luke Wistara." A male blonde spoke up. "I'm pretty sure you guys would need someone to store your goods and all." He added jokingly, his slim potions clinking softly on his belt strap from the slight movement.

A tall man, probably the tallest member in the party, clad in full golden-yellow armor; even more heavily protected than the rune knight's, with auburn hair and light brown eyes to match, introduced himself after the genetic. "Resplen O'Ryan is the name."

"Oooh we have similar names, you and I. Reseph here." The arch bishop chimed in before continuing with his question. "And who might this beautiful lady be?" his cyan blue eyes fixated on his fellow clergy standing adjacent to him.

"Oh..uhm..I'm Enora, pleased to meet you all." The female bowed courteously.

"I'm known as the great Axentrio. Just so you know, I'm not your ordinary sorcerer and ladies love me," the man with a ponytail boasted proudly as he winks at the girls. "And this bastard here is Cr- gyaaaaahhhh." He was cut off by a fireball attack from the white haired warlock, blasting him off to the ocean.

More than half of the crowd stared wide-eyed; shocked at the stunt pulled off by the man, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Some, however, started chuckling at the sight of Axentrio struggling to swim towards the ship.

"That was really uncalled for!" The sorcerer yelled while fumbling for his magician hat. His long red hair glistened in the water and the contrasting blue of the ocean made his iris an even brighter red.

"Just call me Zaikuro." The aloof warlock simply stated while ignoring the tantrums coming from his partner.

"And you? A sura I presume." Kyler eyed a hooded boy in the crowd.

The boy nodded briefly. Although a sura, he was still wearing the champion's hooded vest, mainly because he was not very fond of the idea of being half naked in public. What remained a difference were the flame-patterned designs on the vest instead of the usual plain red and white. The sura had not spoken once ever since he joined the group in Alberta. It was made clear when he pointed his right index finger to his throat and then made an X sign with his arms, suggesting that he's a mute.

"I see..." Resplen affirmed understandingly.

"Hmmm? What are we supposed to call you then?" Jack questioned.

Before the young man could get his hands on any writing materials, few of the members have started coming up with nicknames for him without his consent.

"Sura"

"That's lame"

"Noob"

"Who the hell said that?"

"Mr. Mute then"

"How rude"

"Whatever"

The poor sura was clearly getting worried. He definitely did not want to be called Mr. Mute or anything of the like.

"Hmmm...he has silver hair.. Alright, we shall call you Gin. It means silver in Japanese." Resplen finally suggested.

Gwen looked at him. "How do you know Japanese?"

"Don't underestimate the person who has travelled to many cities. I've picked up a few languages on my way."

"That's settled then, Gin it is." Kyler simply agreed. He was getting impatient with the dawdling of the conversation.

The sura, now known as Gin, could only smile slightly and sigh in relief that someone came up with a decent nickname. He had no other choice but to accept it...for now.

"Hey…we're missing two more people. Where's the guillotine cross?"

Someone then pointed upwards. A figure was seen standing on the ship's main-mast**.**

Shadowing his eyes with his hand, Reseph looked at the pointed direction. "What in the world is he doing up there?"

"Heeeeeey, get down here will ya?" Luke shouted.

The half masked assassin glanced at the caller for a few seconds, only to throw a dagger at the source, nearly hitting Luke.

Barely dodging the dagger by a hair's breadth, he stumbled onto the wooden surface. "What the #%&* is he trying to kill me?"

"Look, there's a note attached to the dagger."

Gwen unstuck the dagger to retrieve the folded piece of paper, inside contained a handwritten message with huge letters, written "SVEN CRUXEFORD".

"What the heck is with the capital letters, does he think that we're blind?" Luke, still unrecovered by the shock, remarked with a hint of annoyance.

Kyler looks around questioningly. "So where's the other guy?"

"The other..? You mean the ranger?" Alyth asked for confirmation. Looking at the front of the main cabin, she continued when she couldn't find who she was looking for, "I thought I saw him standing by the barrels at that corner. He had bandages all over him, with a scary-looking expression on his face."

"Really? What's an injured man doing in the party anyway…"

"Sorry ta break ya conversation young lads, but we'll be reaching soon." The captain chimed in.

The group members were dismissed and started walking back into their cabins, leaving the two souls who share a similar first syllable name on the deck.

Reseph walked towards the sides of the ship and leaned against it, both arms on top of the gunwale, he was enjoying the wind blowing through his tousled golden blond hair, his left ear pierced with a small white silver stud earring; glinting in the sunlight.

"Endless Tower huh? Why did it even exist in the first place." He asked nonchalantly to nobody in specific.

"Indeed… It appeared ten years ago, like magic out of thin air. Nobody knew where it came from." An unexpected reply surprised the bishop from behind.

Turning his head, he saw the tall male approaching to where he was. The serious answer sparked Reseph's interest a little. "So..why are you going to such a gloomy place?"

Resplen stared at the fluid movement of the water beneath the ship, his eyes was slowly filled with sadness. He closed and reopened them before answering the question. "My father was one of the mercenary who joined the first endless tower recruitment ten years ago. He was a stubborn old man, never listened to anybody. I was seventeen then and hated that side of him…but, I couldn't stand the thought of him disappearing so suddenly somewhere inside that tower. There was no use brooding over it, so I joined this party to clear my doubts and uncover the mystery myself."

There was a momentary pause before Reseph replied with another question. "Are you alright with spilling all the details to a person you barely met?"

"We're on the same boat now. No use hiding it."

Reseph merely smiled before his gaze fell upon a semi-translucent mass in the horizon. It looked like the toxic gas monster; Noxious, that had blown up by a hundred fold. As the vessel nears the mass, the bow of the ship was cutting through the fog like butter.

Parts of the island came into sight after few minutes have ticked by. The fog was so thick that sands on the beach were only visible when the ship was anchored a couple of kilometers away. The island was not as big as they thought it would be. Dense forest covered three-quarters of the island; from the front half to the rear. The trees were no longer green; most leaves were shriveled, with dark colored tints on it. The tower was yet to be seen but it was too hazy for that to be possible. Nevertheless, what lay ahead was certainly the isolated island that no ships would come across, no animals would live and no ordinary people would go – the dreaded Misty Island.

"Typical, should've known." Jack mused at the sight of the island. It was exactly what you'd expect of a spooky, haunted area that you could see in Glast Heim or the Abbey.

Standing at a corner, a bandaged ranger had his eyes fixed on the island, staring intently through the mist. His warg nudged his side in an attempt to reduce the tension building up in him. It seemed to have worked as the ranger shifted his attention to his companion and stroked the fur gently on its head.

* * *

After packing up their belongings and supplies along with their mounts, the group members climbed down the rope ladder to transfer themselves to a smaller boat used to travel from a ship to shore.

"Here's an item fer ya to contact me, me sailors and I ain't staying fer long, press the button when ya, ahem, managed to get out. Me sailors and I will be here when it buzzes on me side," Jansen explained as he handed the small device carefully to Kyler.

"Thanks for the help, Jansen."

"_Captain_ Jansen," he reminded the ranger once again. "Good luck and stay alive!" That said, the captain and the sailors hoisted up the anchor, setting off towards the opposite direction.

Stale air filled the atmosphere, musty and stagnant, almost hard to breathe. Smell of the sea water, grass and rottenness mixed together made each individual's nose twitch unpleasantly. Further ahead, albeit misty, was none other than the endless tower. As the group walked deeper onto the dirt-filled pathway, the tower seemed to have enlarged considerably from their view.

It was enormous. Enormous and sky-high. The apex was covered in clouds and mist, concealed from the human eye. The tower was covered in dark colored bricks, still strong and sturdy after who knew how long. Traces of orangey sunshine from the setting sun highlighted the narrow fissures between solid blocks. Not a single window or any small opening could be seen anywhere on the tower save for a stone door as the entrance. The endless tower looked absolutely menacing and intimidating in its entirety.

The group stood near the entrance and spent few minutes…or longer, gawking at the phenomenon.

"So…how do we get in?" Luke couldn't help but to ask a dumb question.

"Based on my research, I'm pretty sure there's something that will let us in there…" Kyler scanned the area cautiously, searching for something.

Without warning, a deep yet hollow voice boomed.

"Welcome to the Endless Tower, young ones." An old greyish stone statue greeted the adventurers. "I am the tower's Stone Guardian. The one that guards the entrance of this tower and the only one capable of opening it for you." The statue paused to see if there was any response from the group; none came.

"You will encounter the most dangerous and dire of situations inside the tower. Once you enter, there will be no turning back. Are you ready to step foot into the endless tower to battle with fate, young ones?"

Gripping his bow, Kyler looked and nodded towards the others.

"We are ready." He declared.

With its final words, the giant stone door opened slowly, creaking its way until a stairway came into full view. Inside of the tower appeared dim even with torches of flames lining up on each side of the stairway. The flames were small and weak, as if on the verge of fizzling out and would do so with just a tiny blow of air. It got even darker when the entrance gave a loud, final thud, depriving the group of their last ray of sunlight. They could only see a dead end ahead of them until they turn the corner.

"This is it." Kyler walked up front with his warg trailing just behind him. "Keep your guard up and watch where you're going."

Some of the members gulped to get rid of the big lump forming in their throat before walking up the stairs. The stairway was slowly filled with both soft and earnest footsteps.

"I..I think I heard something," Leyra voiced out. The group went alert and slowed down their pace. Turning the corner, they could see an opening. The entrance was still partly hidden from their blind spot, but there was no doubt that they were getting closer due to brighter shades of light coming from the doorway.

Seeing how everyone was so tensed up, Axentrio decided to heat things up even more. "Heh..according to the rumors, they say there lies man-eating creatures and hideous zombies who would kill you so that you'll be a part of their eternal army…I wonder if it's the monster's grunting or the sound of its saliva dripping that we're hearing."

"Sh-shut it will ya? The only thing they'll sound like is-"

*Boing boing*

Most of them froze on the spot, pondering about the unknown.

The sound got clearer than ever when they reached the final few steps, the stone door that divided the room and the stairway was already opened, revealing the source of the noise.

Porings.

Lots of porings, accompanied by its multi colored family.

"Dangerous mobs my ass!" Luke laughed at the sheer sight of jelly beings.

"You looked like you were going to see ghosts a while ago though, hahaha," Reseph laughed in amusement.

"_Well_ you guys looked the same too!" He snapped back, furious.

"Guys, quit wasting time," said Kyler as he took out his elven bow, and proceeds to shoot a poring.

"Wait, how could you just- …they're only porings!"

"Why not? We do need some warm ups." Axen, along with Sven and Luke went ahead to whack the little creatures.

"That's somewhat degrading. Can't we just proceed further?"

"Look around you, does it seem like there's anywhere else we could go?"

One would expect the room to be much bigger judging by the perimeter of the tower, but this one seems smaller than it should be. However, it was still big, if this wasn't a room filled with colored mobs, it would look like the hall of a mansion. Crack-like squiggly lines are connected to form various shapes on the concrete floor and walls enveloped all four sides of the room. The most eye-catching structure in the room was a giant square-shaped cauldron with bright, burning flames ignited on top of it, situated on the right side of the room. Clear-cut diamonds of various sizes were hovering and encircling the flame resulting in the flickering of refracted light. Eerie statues guard the sides of the cauldron. Smaller flames helped light up the place, mainly the entrance, near the exit and on the pillars that stood at different positions in the room. The only route to the next room was a one-way C-shaped path. The geography of the floor after each corner slopes slightly; dividing the room into lower grounds and upper grounds where one is able to see the burning flames at eye level when they reach the exit.

"Does that mean we're supposed to kill all of them?"

"Exactly"

Enora heaved a heavy sigh. Others who were idle before have also started to walk in different directions. As unwillingly as she is to kill off cute blobs, she buffed and followed the people who went forward.

"Jackerel, I saw the exit." Leyra announced excitedly. Others who had cleared the lower grounds made their way up. Sure enough, between two small cauldrons was the dark colored stone door guarding the exit. With a final release of an arrow through a Marin, the door automatically slid open to the left side to reveal yet another stairway.

XxxxxX

"Ha..that was the last argiope. Those big fat centipedes are slow but they're deadly."

"It sure seems like each floor contains a monster of its type, all I saw in this room were bugs."

The group was already on the fourth floor, with all the mobs finished off. They've been going through the same routine on each floor.

The exit on this floor was a little different than the previous ones in which they had the same color as the walls, but this door was covered in moss green. The smudges of dirt and filth seemed to have darkened the otherwise emerald-colored exterior. They waited for the door to do its usual thing but it was still tightly shut.

"Hey, that was the last mob right? Why isn't the door opening?"

Resplen slammed his palms on the right, flat edge of the big stone slab in an attempt to push it manually. He paused after a few unsuccessful attempts.

"This door…It's..."

* * *

**A/N:**

Aaaand that's it for Chapter 3. Sorry if it seems draggy, but it needs to be done because of the "large" amount of characters. =S

For those of you who wants to have a better grasp on the image of our characters, visit my profile and click on the link for a better look. =)

Reviews are very welcome!~


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